2018's NXT call-ups: How successful will they be?

Will the Ominous Man from Amsterdam be as ominous on Raw or SmackDown?

All eyes will be on WrestleMania for the next couple of months, but beyond it, the roster will shake up with an influx of NXT talent. It's always a time of anticipation and trepidation for NXT fans, as their favourites haven't always been handled well. For every Asuka, there are scores of Finn Balors, Bayleys, and Bobby Roode. Shinsuke Nakamura was very nearly a casualty.

There are nine call-ups we're likely to see at some point in 2018. While their NXT runs are, as we've seen many times, not always indicative of main roster success, we can combine that with main roster tropes to get an idea of how well they'll do.

#1 The Authors of Pain

All indications are that the Authors of Pain will get called up after WrestleMania. Though they'll compete in the Dusty Tag Team Classic, there's truly nothing left for them to do. Their presence is badly needed to shake up a stale tag team division.

With their size, strength, and brutal offence, the Authors of Pain make for perfect monster tag team champions. Should Paul Ellering make the jump with them, promos won't be a problem either. A feud with the Usos is a particularly mouthwatering prospect.

On/off wrestling fan since 1996. A budding copywriter with political experience, I write about persuasion, influence, and masculinity at my blog http://masculineepic.com/ . Uncoincidentally, all of these things are vital in professional wrestling.